San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Examining the battle of the backups
Darnold, RB Mason have chance to show out against Rams in low-stakes finale
Rest vs. rust: Do you think Kyle Shahanan should be sitting everyone in this last game of the regular season?
Eric Branch: The limits of a 48-man game-day roster make sitting everyone impractical, but Shanahan should be sitting every one of his frontline starters. The obvious problem: The 49ers had an NFL-high nine Pro Bowl selections and 12 alternates, meaning 39.6% of their 53-man roster was recognized. I’m not sure where to draw the line. But I’d at least be sitting the 35-year-old generational left tackle (Trent Williams), the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player (Nick Bosa), the league’s best linebacker (Fred Warner), the batteringram All-Pro tight end (George Kittle), the battering-ram All-Pro wide receiver (Deebo Samuel), the on-fire No. 1 cornerback (Charvarius Ward) …
Scott Ostler: Hell yeah. Shanahan should even give himself the day off, let Brock Purdy get on the headset and call the offensive plays. The coach’s fevered brain could benefit from a day’s rest. Seriously, why not? This would even benefit Purdy, seeing the game in a different way. Remember several years ago when Steve Kerr let his players coach themselves in a game? They loved it. Seriously (again), this game is a gift to the 49ers from the football gods, and Shanahan should not ignore those deities. It’s not like Purdy, Bosa and the fellas are going to go soft with a day off from mayhem.
Michael Silver: I’ve always been a rest over rust guy; the thought of an important player (or players) suffering an injury and not being available for the games that count is maddening. And I’d argue that the 49ers happen to have more “important” players than any team in the league. That said, it’s Shanahan’s team, and he made some good points in regard to the other approach — keeping a team in rhythm, not subjecting role players to injury that could have a spillover effect on the stars, and the risk of the 49ers not being at their best when they have to play an elimination game. Purdy and Christian McCaffrey are already resting, thankfully. If Shanahan plays Williams, Bosa, Samuel or Kittle even a single snap I’ll be tempted to come down from the press box, walk to the 49ers’ sideline and pull them out myself. That would be frowned upon. All you, Kyle: That’s why you make the big bucks.
Which 49ers reserve pressed into action do you think will have a big day?
Branch: Running back Jordan Mason. Christian McCaffrey (calf ) is out. And his backup, Elijah Mitchell, is a sensational No. 2 with an abnormally extensive injury history. That is, it’s not hard to see Mason being the feature back against a defense that will be sitting All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald and linebacker Ernest Jones, who ranks seventh in the NFL in tackles (145). Oh, another thing: Mason, 5-foot-11 and 223 pounds, can play. The hard-charging 2020 undrafted free agent has 428 yards on 77 carries in his career, averaging 5.6 yards per attempt.
Ostler: Sam Darnold. This guy has more rust than a sunken ship, and this game is the perfect opportunity to chip some of it off. Shanahan would be foolish to go run-heavy, because of the added risk to his running backs, and he needs Darnold to be ready for the playoffs, so Shanahan will give old Sam a nice chance to throw the old pigskin around the old gridiron. The 49ers’ backup receivers are hungry for action, too, so this will be a 274yard passing day for Darnold.
Silver: Randy Gregory. Carson Wentz likes to hold the ball and extend plays; Gregory remains a talented pass rusher who will have his chances to run the QB down. I don’t think Sam Darnold is a bad pick here, either.
Outside of the 49ers at No. 1, there’s still much to be determined in NFC playoff seeding. Who do you think they’re hoping to see in the divisional round, and who would present the biggest chance of an upset?
Branch: The 49ers certainly wouldn’t mind seeing the reeling Eagles, who have remained in a million little pieces since the 49ers began their late-season collapse by dismantling them in Philadelphia in early December. There are less-imposing potential opponents, at least on paper, but they don’t offer a chance to exact we’ll-end-your-season revenge after last year’s NFC Championship Game.
The biggest chance of upset? The Rams, whose only loss in their past seven games was an overtime defeat at Baltimore, to the AFC’s No. 1 seed. The Rams’ coaching staff ’s familiarity with their NFC West rival negates much of the tactical edge the 49ers often have with Shanahan’s offense. And Los Angeles proved to be a handful in a 27-20 home loss to the 49ers in Week 2 when the Rams were without All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp and their late-season mojo. That defeat was part of their 3-6 start.
Ostler: Logic says the 49ers would like to see the Eagles again. I’m guessing that worrying about which team(s) they will face in the playoffs is way down on the 49ers’ concern list, below what snacks will be served at halftime. But if they had to choose, the 49ers would most like to face the Eagles, who, oddly enough, have the best chance of upsetting the 49ers. Wounded-animal syndrome.
Silver: This would have sounded wild a little more than a month ago, but the 49ers — and everyone else — should want to play the Eagles. The 49ers’ 42-19 victory at Lincoln Financial Field seemed to rob the defending NFC champs of their swagger, and Nick Sirianni’s team has been a hot mess ever since. The Eagles could still get the No. 2 seed, if they win and the Cowboys falter, but the fifth seed is more likely. If that happens, and I’m the Niners, I’m rooting for no upsets in the first round, so that I can play the winner of the game between Philly and the NFC South champion.
Do the 49ers complete a season sweep of their NFC West rivals, or do the Rams win the battle of the backups?
Branch: As my grandfather always told me, “When sizing up a Week 18 game neither team cares about winning, pick the team with the better second-string QB.” Sam Darnold vs. Carson Wentz equals 49ers 24, Rams 20.
Ostler: This will be a spirited JV game for the 49ers, and the guys who do play will not be on cruise control. Many of the fill-ins will be trying to put some good plays on film, to boost their NFL futures and fortunes. Shanahan has brainwashed me into believing that Darnold is a top-shelf NFL quarterback. So, 49ers 23, Rams 16.
Silver: Back in the spring of 2018, Sean McVay and I were having drinks one night in Santa Monica. A couple of months earlier the Rams, who’d secured a favorable playoff position, had rested their starters in the regular-season finale against the long-since-eliminated 49ers and gotten rolled. This is what McVay told me: “I’ll tell you this: That was the last time. I don’t care if there’s a game where we’ve clinched everything and there’s zero reason to take a risk. If we’re playing against Kyle, I’m playing everybody, and I’m playing to win. There’s no way I’m going through that again, as long as I f—ing live.”
McVay, after sweeping the Niners in 2018, has since lost nine consecutive regular-season games to Shanahan, with a caveat: The showdown between the two rivals that really mattered, the 2021 NFC Championship Game, went L.A.’s way, and the Rams went on to win the Super Bowl.
Bottom line: McVay doesn’t want to lose. Shanahan doesn’t want to lose. They won’t be cutthroat about it, but both teams will try to win. I’ll give the edge to the home team, but not by much: 49ers 24, Rams 23.